Around 70,000 refugees have been registered in Yida camp in South Sudan's Unity State, nine miles from the border with Sudan, since 2011. Most have arrived after fleeing the violent conflict in Sudan's Nuba Mountains.

During last year's rainy season, the mortality rate among young children in the camp rose well above the emergency threshold of two deaths per day per 10,000 people, mostly due to infectious diseases related to the camp's poor hygiene conditions, which were further exacerbated by the rains.

Civilians have been fleeing the conflict between Sudanese government forces and rebels from the North Sudanese People Liberation Movement (SPLM-North) in Sudan's South Kordofan region since June 2011. The only option for many displaced people is to seek refuge in the camp of Yida, just on the other side of the border in South Sudan. As Yida's population continues to grow, the camp's location has become a source of complex political tensions that increasingly threaten the condition of the refugees.